Professor Peter Winstanley, currently head of Clinical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, takes up the post in May.

He has held the headship at the University of Liverpool since 2007.

During his time there, he also directed the Liverpool Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), which focuses on translational aspects of microbial diseases.

Professor Winstanley was born in Liverpool and graduated from Liverpool Medical School in 1979, undertaking his first training posts in Merseyside, going on to the Royal Postgraduate Medical School and the Brompton Hospital. He has also conducted three years of research in Kenya working on malaria treatment.

Professor Winstanley said: “This is the largest graduate-entry medical course in the UK set in one of the country’s best universities.

"I want to work with the students and staff to define Warwick’s uniqueness, to make the Medical School even more attractive to applicants and to ensure that the reputation of our doctors is enhanced nationally and internationally.”